Monday, December 30, 2019

Area 51 Conspiracy Essay - 1907 Words

Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? A conspiracy theory is the belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event (Webster Dictionary). Area 51 is one of the most world renown conspiracy theories. The origin of the name â€Å"Area 51† is unclear and has not been found, although many people believe it comes from some kind of nuclear weapon coding. Conspiracies have always captured people because they give many different scenarios to an event that occurred. The conspiracy on Area 51 has been rumored since the early 1960s; there are many witnesses including the military, police, and people who live in Nevada. After looking further into this conspiracy, one can find that there are a lot of†¦show more content†¦After the U-2 many other spy planes and bombs have been developed. Another interest is the Nevada Test Site. This is where all the new equipment is tested, like bombs and military equipment (Chaisson, Np). All t he new techniques and military ideas are more than likely from Area 51. The entire Nevada Test Site goes over 5,200 square miles. It covers 1,600 square miles of contaminated air from radiation caused by testing nuclear bombs (Chaisson, Np). Area 51 is a major sight used for keeping new ideas because of the great location. In the summer of 1947, a strange, round object crashed on a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. The military came to recover the debris and on July 8, 1947, officer Lt. Walter Haut issued a press release that stated they had recovered a flying saucer. The next day another press release was issued from a general, stating it was a weather balloon. This was the start of rumors and conspiracy theories about UFO visitations and the military covering things up. In the following years, talk of the Roswell Incident fell quiet until the early 1980’s. The military and government officials did not speak about it so that it would not get any more attention. In the 1980s a UFO researcher, Stanton Freidman, came across the story and started to research and look for witnesses. He found Lt. Walter Haut who still lived in Roswell and gave him information about the 1947 press release. His research led toShow MoreRelatedPsychopathy And Social Learning Theory And The Copycat Effect1224 Words   |  5 PagesThe two topics I found interesting are both found in Chapters 4 of Adler, Mueller, and Laufer. The topics that will be discussed in this essay are psychopathy and â€Å"social learning theory and the copycat effect. These two topics have me intrigued to learn more about. In Adler, Mueller, and Laufer it left me questioning why these people commit such crimes and what motives or patterns might be linked to copy others. I also found interesting how â€Å"psychopathy is viewed as a serious illness even thoughRead MoreNew World Order in Conspiracy Theory13987 Words   |  56 Pages------------------------------------------------- New World Order (conspiracy theory) This article is about the use of the term  New World Order  in conspiracy theory. For other uses, see  New World Order (disambiguation). The reverse side of the  Great Seal of the United States  (1776). The Latin phrase novus ordo seclorum, appearing on the reverse side of the Great Seal since 1782 and on the back of the  U.S one-dollar bill  since 1935, means New Order of the Ages and only alludes to the beginningRead MoreSherman Antitrust Act : A Critical And Necessary Statute2095 Words   |  9 Pagesfor sacrificing economic efficiency. This fundamental statute continues to notably shape the economic landscape even today, albeit being more than 100 years old. The act contains three sections. 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Sunday, December 22, 2019

A Camping Trip Gone Wrong - 864 Words

You would think that camping is fun and adventurous. Well, that is what I thought until I actually experienced it. My father told me we would be staying in a large tent overlooking the ocean. I envisioned being inside the tent with all this space and then looking out at the big blue ocean calmly flowing, as the sunset turns into bright bursting colors of yellow and orange. Little did I know about all the bugs that would end up biting every inch of our bodies, picking at our skin like little blood sucking creatures. My dad never mentioned them either. There’s a lot he didn’t mention. It was definitely not the fun-filled experience I anticipated. It was my first camping trip with my dad, his family, and my sister. We began our trip†¦show more content†¦We enjoyed this so much that it compensated for the dreadful morning we had. Our last day wasn’t too bad. It was much more relaxing and the weather felt a bit cooler. We were finally able to go fish ing. The ocean was crystal clear and as smooth as a plate, which made the fishing a perfect experience. So we casted our lines into the ocean making a beautiful ripple effect. We ended the day watching the sun turn bright orange as it was swallowed by the water against a hazy, smoky-grey sky. The clouds meshed into the sky as night came and sparkling, bright stars appeared and glistened like diamonds. Just as everything was going perfect, it came time for us to pack up and head home. In the end, I enjoyed spending time with my dad, his family and my sister, although it was definitely not a trip I would like to relive. At least now we all know how to better prepare for our next campingShow MoreRelatedEssay about Unit 9 P1791 Words   |  4 Pagesthe coast. 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So we came to the conclusion that we would take a five day trip and that we would go old school and just camp for a week. Which little did we know that we were totally unprepared for what would actually occur on this trip. FirstRead MoreThe, Rolling Stones, Rob, The Jh Ranch Camp Director1466 Words   |  6 Pagesway guys, the group members moan. Rachel and Ben seemed to snap at this, NO HELPING OTHER TEAMS, they yell almost too in sync. So there we began the long hike through the difficult rocky terrain to our campground-or so we thought. My trip though the Californian mountains consisted of many difficult, obstacles: tripping over the many rocks, arguing over whether or not we should take a right or left turn, stopping constantly because of crazy scenarios- panic attacks, broken ankles, etcetera

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Karl Marx and Weber Free Essays

Choi, Sang Hyun History of Sociology Professor Denis Kim November 1, 2012 Karl Marx and Max Weber on Religion: Which one came first, the Chicken or the Egg? A strong discrepancy in interpretation of religions exists between the two great thinkers, Marx and Weber, in that Marx saw religions as â€Å"the opiate of the masses† (Marx, 1843:42) meaning that religions justify believers’ bitter lives and make them passive whereas Weber saw religions as having power to bring about not just social but economic changes (Jong Seo, 2005:231). On top of that, Marx believed that the religion is a dependent variable determined by the substructure- materialistic and economic conditions. Weber, in contrast, assumed that the religion played a role in enlightening or changing people’s thoughts and behaviors unconsciously, causing them to embrace a new way of living such as capitalism. We will write a custom essay sample on Karl Marx and Weber or any similar topic only for you Order Now These contrasts derive from the fact that these two intellectuals approached the religions from different perspectives. Most of Marx’s reasoning reveals the characteristics of methodological holism while Weber focused more on individuals and held on to the idea that individuals’ motives and philosophy are the source of changes and revolutions- methodological individualism. To begin with, it is critical to understand Marx and Weber’s sociological perspectives beforehand in order to grasp a comprehensive understanding with regard to the two thinkers’ ideas on religion. I believe that Marx revealed methodological holistic characteristics more from his study rather than methodological individualism. The opposite goes with the Weber’s perspective toward society. Marx’s approach tries to accept that fact that there are unseen things that are present such as relationships between individuals. The thing is that society enables itself to have control over individuals and tries to govern them with the unseen things. It is clear how Marx was on the methodological holistic stance in terms of his emphasis on economic determinism. Marx believed that society is composed of two dominant structures-sub and super. He explained that the upper-super structure such as religions is determined by the substructure which is mainly about economic elements such as relation of production and force of production. Mark concluded that materials are the ones that bring about social changes (Turner, 2005:17). We can argue that his ideas were mainly centered on methodological holism because he put more emphasis on the role (power) of economy and substructure than individuals and superstructure. Under the given interpretation, religion has almost nothing to do with social or economic changes because it belongs to the super structure. Religion seems to be reduced to a mere dependent variable or by-product caused by the substructure in accordance with Marx (M. Argyle B. Beit-Hallahmi, 1975:174-177). In contrast, methodological individualism was introduced as a methodological precept for the social sciences by Max Weber, most importantly in the first chapter of â€Å"Economy and Society† (Weber, 1968 [1922]). It amounts to the claim that social phenomena must be explained by showing how they result from individual actions, which in turn must be explained through reference to the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. In other words, it can be described as the claim that explanations of â€Å"macro† social phenomena must be supplied with â€Å"micro† foundations, ones that specify an action-theoretic mechanism (Alexander, 1987). With this approach, Weber was able to value individuals as their own and tried to decipher what constituted people in terms of intangible elements such as ideas, motives, values, and beliefs. What strikes is that he had a great opportunity to go through the process of development of capitalism with the help of this approach. His most well-known and intuitive book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, is a great culmination of his approach and shedded new light on the importance of spiritual and moral values, with providing remarkable insights on how humans’ abstract ideas and values can affect the society in a massive way. These two different ways of ‘making sense of society’ led them to conclude what religions could do in their contemporary societies. As stated above, Marx perceived economic factors or issues to be central and primary rather than marginal. It was inevitable that he saw religions as being marginal and of lesser importance. In his contemporary society, workers-proletariats were treated less than as they were supposed to be and exploited enormously. The workers had no choice but to succumb to the haves’-bourgeoisies- order or demands with the floods of workers when there were a few jobs available for them. They were, as Marx reasoned, about to take action to take over the capitalism in which they were subordinated. He asserted and hoped that communism would take over the capitalism’s place and people would live in a society where alienation and private ownership are nowhere to be seen. It was only possible with the combined power of proletariat. However, religion played a role in soothing the wrath of the exploited class and made it almost impossible to accumulate certain level of collective behavior. Religion acted as a refuge from a suffering life for the proletariat. There comes Marx’ view on religion that the religion was a refuge from a suffering life. It is famously quoted that â€Å"Religion is the opiate of the masses† (Marx, 1843:42). In other words, religion teaches people to give up materialistic conditions and procrastinate worldly happiness and rewards to spiritual world (Giddens, 2011:580). Even though it is tough to live in the society, one is encouraged that the post-life would be much promising according to Marx’s view. People have an imaginary refugee to which they would escape from their harsh real life. They are more likely to succumb to the social pressures or injustice because it will be okay in the spiritual world. They would endure socially and morally wrong actions and stick with their life no matter how hard it is. As these people take part in religious activities or listen to the preaching, they are unconsciously justified that their bitter lives might be what they were supposed to be, which led to class-in-itself being unable to reach the next step-class-for-itself with class consciousness. As stated above, no-communist revolution would be accomplished in terms of religions’ impacts on the exploited. According to Marx, this process must be changed or stopped since it has a negative influence on people’s awakening or realizing their real situation in which they are exploited (Swatos, 1998:499). Weber, on the other hand, pursued answers of how the pivotal spirit ‘ethos’ in the contemporary western societies emerged and where the western the societies were heading in terms of religion. His initial interest was sparked by the fact that most of the highly achieved and skilled superior workers are from protestant background (Weber, 2006:233). Weber considered that there was an apparent relationship etween certain religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that this association might indicate an elective affinity between the two. In his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, he asserted that there are two determining factors that contributed to the development of capitalism in western societies. First, Calvin ’s doctrine of predestination played a significant role in upbringing people’s ascetic attitude or way of life. According to Calvin’s doctrine, one’s possibility (destination) of salvation is beyond the reach of humans’ knowing. Not only the ordinary, but also the priests are excluded in the ‘knowing’ process. Furthermore, humans are not able to change their pre-destined salvation acceptance or rejection. No one but God knows who will be redeemed. Humans are powerless before God and expect or hope to be chosen as one of the ‘lucky’ ones. It is possible that we can conclude humans in that era were too hopeless and powerless to advance their lives with enthusiasm. But it isn’t. The thing was that humans were not aware of their pre-destined salvation but can be aware of signs of salvation in the pursuit of worldly success only with frugal and ascetic attitude. That is to say that they are justifying their material success and imposing responsibility at the same time (Jong Seo, 2005). Under the given circumstance, people are always in the pursuit of ‘working hard’, ‘not wasting money’, and ‘accumulation of wealth’ in order to know if they are to be redeemed or not. Even with excessive amount of money, they would not stop themselves from working hard and ascetic life because that’s what they were striving for: proof of salvation. Second, Calvin’s religious calling played an important role in making people set the attitude stated above. Every vocation is valued and by all means worthy of God’s calling. The thing is that not only sacred priests but other menial workers are also valued and sacred under the Calvin’s religious calling. It encourages people to accept the idea that â€Å"no matter what you do, you should make an effort in your job because it’s valuable, divine, and godly†. Also, as people were more aware of the notion or values, they were more likely to be committed to their jobs and lives (Weber, 2006:120). These two characteristics of protestant ethics led to more accumulation of ealth and rational management and work ethics (Weber, 2006). This is noteworthy that even with the enormous capital, one is not tempted to taste his or her rewards which is highly unimaginable in modern societies. This goes further that these protestants participated in their daily and worldly activities with ascetic attitude which in turn boosted capitalism in western societies. In other words, prot estants’ ethics, Weber argued, have a positive influence on building the spirit of capitalism. Although society has improved and developed the way never witnessed before with firm establishment of capitalism, it is unlikely to find this kind of protestant ethics sustaining in the modern society because a row of inherited property without the essence of spirits and ethics gifted the sons and daughters of the protestants with no responsibility, making them ‘fat pigs’ rather than ‘dissatisfied Socrates’, figuratively speaking. John Wesley, the founder of Methodist church, was also concerned with the likeliness of ‘earning more money with less religious spirit’ (Weber, 2006:189). From my point of view, I personally believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable compared to that of Marx in explaining the modern society. First, I agree with Weber’s main argument on religion that religious (Protestant) ethics are one of core factors bringing out changes in our lives. This is because Protestant ethics such as ‘diligent, hard-working, and ascetic’ are related to the idea of merit system which is, in our modern lives, believed to be ‘the way’ for equality and fairness. We live in a society where unfairness flourishes and hope to diminish whatever exists between the reality and the ideal world. The reason why this unfair world is justified is that we believe that the world values and approves those who try really hard in their field with diligence (Sang Jin, 2011:3). The protestant ethics, I believe, played a role in leading the meritocratic ideas to our lives. Those protestants proved the fact that people with hard-work and abstinence were surely able to achieve ‘success’ in lives, and looked up to as ‘worthy of praise’. It’s likely that people have gradually believed that the society where these protestant people are successful is just and fair because they try harder than the majority of people. This leads to the idea of merit system through which humans can justify their world. In other words, by proving success with hard-work, protestant ethics paved the way for meritocracy. Second of all, the abstract religious spirits can play an important role in maintaining the society. The religions have a tendency to lead to people’s voluntary and active participation in social and political issues which is different from Marx’s expectation. Marx believed that religion has an influence on making people submissive and obedient. However, we now see that religions are spread out massively to help out those who need attention, care, and assist. When one is involved in any activities in religion, they are more likely to act and behave than people with no religions. As they take part in the religious activities voluntarily, their community or religious area in bound to be more strongly integrated because they have something in common: religious spirit and altruistic mindset. We can infer from Durkheim’s study on suicide that those with religions have less likeliness to commit suicide than those without because they are more integrated and associated in society which leads to a more sustainable society (Durkheim, 1952[1897]). Finally, despite the fact that the original spirit of capitalism might have been diminished or in decline, it already provided an ‘image’ of religious people and acts as a criterion for those. Some say that the religious or protestant ethics are already faded away, but it’s still true that we have a some sort of image towards religious people that they would be more ‘upright’ and ‘ascetic’ than non-religious people. For example, when Koreans hang out nowadays, they often ask one another if they drink alcohol or not. And we usually take it for granted that the people believing in God do not drink alcohol. Likewise, these people mainly Christian-Protestant are expected not to drink ‘alcohol’ or do ‘drugs’. This is because we know by experiencing a bunch of these people that â€Å"These guys are not (mostly) bad guys†. Even if they do not possess the mindset as their ancestors did, the society already formed some sort of ‘image’ toward these religious people throughout the history. Therefore, the society enables and enforces the religious people to act and behave in accordance with ‘the protestant’. In other words, â€Å"their ancestors’ image still lives within us and affects our lives†. Even though I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more proper when it comes to explanations of modern world, it would be more reasonable and wise to make a leap with both of the great thinkers’ explanations. This is because these so-called sociologists seem to lag behind the other in some field and some not. For example, Weber’s reasoning was not sufficient in explaining Eastern countries huge development even with the religion- Confucianism which considered to be negative in capitalism’s improvement (Weber, 2006:243). And Marx’s reasoning would require additional explanations of modern religions in that religions are diversified and playing roles as many. These two dominant thinkers’ ideas are not contradictory but supplementary to some extent because both of the arguments can replace and be replaced by the other (Giddens, 2011:584). In conclusion, these great thinkers had different approaches on religion and elicited their unique conclusions based on their observations. Marx saw religions as â€Å"the opiate of the masses† and perceived it as a ‘negative thing’ for humans’ freedom from alienation and revolutions through workers’ collective angers whereas Weber saw religions as somewhat ‘positive influencer’ in that flourish of capitalism in western countries was based on protestant ethics which was the direct movement of ‘religion’(Calvinism, to be exact). In their analysis of religions, they showed the ways they regard religions as somewhat dependent variables-Marx and somewhat independent variables-Weber (Jong Seo, 2005). Controversy exists over whether who provided more reasonable and relevant insights to our world because both of the reasoning has some weak points and strong points. However, I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable in order to explain the modern society due to, social maintenance, and religious criteria, and the rise of meritocracy. No matter what one says, we are not certain which one came first between the chicken and the egg due to uncertainty. There is no absolute answer for this question. Marx and Weber’s observations of religions as dependent or independent variables are reminiscent of this never-solving causality dilemma. A circular cause and consequence like ‘seeing religion as the starter’ and ‘seeing religion as the result’ make us wonder the question of â€Å"Which came first, X that can’t come without Y, or Y that can’t come without X? † We would be trapped in an endless process of logics and pursuant of definite answer. Maybe it’s not the answer that matters but the understanding in the process that matters. The understanding that the somewhat contradictory views can, in actuality, be used as a supplement to the other so that it can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of not just religion but society in general, which as learners of sociology should pursue. All in all, the comparison of Marx and Weber on religion tells us that there is no categorical answer but understanding through which we gain our own perspectives of life. Works Cited Amanda, Review on Marx and Weber on Religion http://web. grinnell. edu/courses/soc/f01/soc295-02/marx_weber. html Giddens Anthony, Sociology. , 2011 Jong Seo Kim, Sociology of Religion, , 2005 Marx Karl, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, CambridgeUniversity Press, 1977 M. Argyle ; B. Beit-Hallahmi, The Social Psychology of Religion, London: Routledge ; Kegan Paul, 1975 Sang Jin Jeon, , , 2011 Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, definition, http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/methodological-individualism/ Swatos William H, Peter Kivisto, Encyclopedia of religion and society, Rowman Altamira, 1998 Turner Jonathan H. , Sociology. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005 Weber Max, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Ed, , , 2006 How to cite Karl Marx and Weber, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

How prejudices of 1930s America are reflected in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example For Students

How prejudices of 1930s America are reflected in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Being Southerners, it was a source of shame to some members of the family that we had no recorded ancestors on either side of the Battle of Hastings. This is just the first of many prejudice statements in To Kill a Mockingbird. We learn here the high expectations set in the society of Maycomb, a tired old town, in the 1930s. Not only were there the social snobberies, but also the racism. In the 1930s, the civil war was still fresh in many minds, The United States of America was going through a period of isolation due to this. The northern states had become independent and many had started accepting blacks in their country, although this was not the case in the southern states such as Maycomb, who continued to use blacks as their hands. The southern whites could not come to accept them as equals and this was mainly due to fear and ignorance. However if whites did not let blacks into their social scene, churches, clubs and schools, then most blacks in turn did not allow whites invading their world either. A prime example of this is when Scout and Jem Finch are invited by their black cook Calpurnia to visit her church, You aint got no business bringin white chillun here-they got their church, we got ourn. This is a comment made by Lula, a church regular. Jem and Scout begin to feel uncomfortable and want to go home but none of the other church members let them, they are in fact mighty glad to have them. This shows how blacks are willing to take a white person over a wrong black person but later in the novel, we see how a white would never take a guilty white person over an innocent black. Although Lula may be wrong, she is a good example of a person clearly not afraid to fight the white people for black justice. Which most black people would not dare to do in the 1930s, the time in which Harper Lees novel is set. It is very important that this book is written in the eyes of a child, Scout Finch. She is still young and not yet exposed to the prejudices in her society, therefore her views are neither black or white and are in no way influenced by others but simply her own opinion. However, scout is unusually aware of everything that is going on around her for a child of such a small age, but this brings us back to the reality of the book that it is fictional and not real. The Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest days work in his recollection they were people, but they lived like animals, these are the words of Atticus Finch, father of Scout. He in the novel plays a very important role as setting the right example to his children. There are many influences from their surroundings of racism and class differences but he teaches them that prejudice is wrong, without him they would only be taught what is right in their society, which is wrong in reality. Atticus continues his opinion of Bob Ewell the father of the Ewells, its certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief cheques on green whisky his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. This is bad enough on its own but when he is favoured over an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, in a court case, just because he is white, the image of Bob becomes not only heartless but disgusting. .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .postImageUrl , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:hover , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:visited , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:active { border:0!important; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:active , .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud419511fc808dfb82d0138d9476bec1b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: History in To Kill a Mockingbird EssayWhen Atticus is asked to defend Tom Robinson in the court case of Bob accusing him of raping his daughter, Mayella Ewell, he takes it on. He says I cant go to church and worship God if I didnt try and help that man. This shows how Atticus was an important man in society in the 1930s, without him there would be no progress into eliminating racism. He is taking a baby step, the beginning of a change. There is much evidence that Bob is guilty when he says he did not want to call the doctor for Mayella when he saw her condition because it would have cost him five dollars. My argument is that if he was more worried about money then his daughters health then surely he would not of gone to so much trouble convicting someone because Mayella was rapped. It was clearly a set up to take a black man to jail knowing that when its a white mans word against a black mans, the white man always wins. Although we know that anyone whether they are black or white can still be a bad person, Harper Lee tries to make the black peoples world so calm and loving and portraying them as having biblical patience. Then as a major contrast, we are introduced to white characters that resort to drink and have bad tempers such as Bob Ewell. This contrast is important although it is an exaggeration it is the only way we see how disgusting and pointless racism was in the 1930s, and still is now. Towards the end of the book we see Aunt Alexandra start to see straight through her fellow neighbours, I mean this town. Theyre perfectly willing to let him do what they are too afraid to do themselves. She addresses that there are white people willing to accept the black people but they are just too afraid to bring their opinions forward as they think they will be criticised by others. What these people do not realise is that there are many with the same feelings and again too afraid to admit. By not expressing them, it is nearly impossible for any changes to be made in their society, as this leads to generations after generations continuing to be influenced by what is wrong. The alienation of Boo Radley is another form of prejudice in the novel. He is a man named Arthur but nicknamed Boo. He lives in a dark house and never comes out which is why the children are curious to find out who he is and what he looks like. Scout and Jems understanding and sympathy for him becomes stronger throughout the book. They begin with the assumption that he is a malevolent phantom and Miss Stephanie the local gossip only made their imaginations run wilder. She tells them that he stabbed his mother with scissors but the sheriff hadnt the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes. Racism and alienation both in the same paragraph, Harper Lee really tries hard to get the point across about what is right and what is wrong, and clearly succeeds. We have seen many occasions in the book where whites have been made higher than blacks no mater what their reputation and here is another. Arthur is a warm-hearted man, we know this as he stitched up Jems trousers when he trespassed in his garden. He covered up Scout with a blanket in order to keep her warm when Miss Maudies house was on fire and then he saved both their lives from Bob Ewell when he tried to kill them. How can this be the doings of an evil man? .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .postImageUrl , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:hover , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:visited , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:active { border:0!important; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:active , .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue7f18baf1bcf45d6e6794276fd995e1a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The American Renaissance is a time that American writers received more recognition as to the quality of their works EssayThe answer is simple, its not. Scout and Jem realise this towards the end of the book that this man is being tormented just because he is different. He is a person who does no harm but who himself is harmed for no reason, why would he want to come out of his house if he thinks he is going to be bombarded with hate? I think Im beginning to understand why Boo Radleys stayed shut up in the house all this time its because he wants to stay inside. To Kill a Mockingbird raises various issues on class and racial equality, but will it ever be eliminated? In my o pinion, I do not think it will. There will always be certain people who can not cope with the idea of a black man and a white man getting along. Nevertheless, with role models like Atticus in our society, we can be taught so that the majority knows what is right and will not be afraid to speak their views. Nelson Mandela was an important figure in racial equality, he was listened to by millions and hopefully influenced many people to believe in what is right and not what they think is right. Influence is the only probable cause of prejudice because it is what you have grown up on, its like starting from A and going to B. If you are told the alphabet goes from A to B then that is what you will think is correct and what you will teach others. But if you are taught it goes from A to C you are being told otherwise without realising it is wrong, therefore will be teaching others what is not right. We know Atticus managed to get his view across to at least a few people such as his children, Miss Maudie and even Aunt Alexandra the same woman who said saying nigger was correct, seemed to see sense. It is also up to us not to give up just as Atticus did not. We saw he did his best in court and so did the black people when they showered him with gifts of appreciation. They also showed him much respect, the Negroes were getting to their feet as Atticus walked down the court room aisle despite loosing the case. The whole book revolves around Scout, if it was not told by her it would be from a totally different angle and give a different view. Harper Lee tells it very clearly, as if the whole story is a test for scout to find out where she stands or where she wants to stand in her society. We find out what a strong character she is during the end of the novel after having encountered much racism surrounding her and still not being sucked in.